Doin' Shit Yourself #2: Oil and Filter Change

Hello Again Steem Folk!

It's me with another installment of Doin' Shit Yourself!

Today I'm going to discuss how to change your oil and filter. My car is a 2001 Saturn SL1, but the same principles apply to most oil changes I believe. The biggest difference is, since this is a small car, it's hard to reach the filter from above the engine.

So, here we go.

Getting Started:

To begin with, let's establish how to check your oil. I've met a fair amount of people who have no concept of checking their oil and I think it's important to be able to do.

Here you can see the dipstick. Just pull it out.

You'll be looking at the very bottom that is marked. The oil present will tell you the level of oil in your car, so you generally want it to be close to full or in the etched pattern is acceptable. Just don't let it go below that.

Typically you'd want to wipe this initial oil off and reinsert the dipstick, then pull it out again to get an accurate gauge of your oil level, but right now I'm just looking at the color and viscosity of the oil. It's a brackish color, which indicates fairly heavy use. I will admit, it's been a long time since I've changed the filter.

The next thing you'll want to do since you have to take the passenger front wheel off is to jack your passenger front side up. Here I've also placed a jackstand underneath because you can never be too safe when doing mechanical work.

Another thing you'll want to do in this stage is to block off your back wheels with something like a brick or board. This is another safety measure in case the car tries to roll. In the event that happens, this should give you more time to get out from under the car or stop it completely.

Draining Old Oil:

The next thing you'll want to do is to drain out all the old oil from your oil pan. The oil pan is located beneath the car behind the air dam and engine. They usually look like this with the grooves in them.

The bolt sticking out of the corner there is what you're looking for. It keeps the pan plugged and removing it will begin the draining.

To save time and frustration, I started removing the bolt with a ratchet using a 1/2 inch socket. It shouldn't typically be difficult to get the bolt started, but don't strain yourself too much. Lying flat on my back, I am able to get both hands ahold of the ratchet, making it super easy!

Here's the little guy. This is what keeps your oil in your pan. Without it, you are nothing. Without you, it is nothing. Well, it's still a bolt.

As you can see, I've placed an oil catch beneath the oil pan. I should've mentioned this in the Getting Started section, but it ought to be self explanatory. Some people catch their oil and reuse it, but this current oil is old and has seen better days, so I will dispose of it later.

Let the oil continue to drain while you continue on to the next steps.

Removing Old Oil Filter:

The next thing you need to do is to remove the old oil filter. To do this, you will need to remove your passenger front wheel. I've met people who don't know how to remove a wheel, so I'll briefly explain how to do so.

You can take your hex wrench (I use the one that came with the original car jack) and begin breaking the lugnuts loose by putting the wrench onto the lugnuts and stepping on it. Your legs are much more powerful than your arms unless you strictly workout only your upper body. I usually start with the bottom lugnut, breaking it loose, then going to the top, unscrewing them in a diagonal pattern so as to put less stress on the threads from the wheel's weight. Once you get them broken loose, you should be able to spin them the rest of the way off by hand and remove the wheel.

Next, you'll need to remove this panel from the wheel well. The filter is just behind it.

To do so, you'll have to remove the push pin that I'm pointing at and then holding. I like to use needle nose pliers to yank the middle part out, then just pull the panel off.

As you can see, this oil filter has seen some shit. By the way, it was really on there. I mean it was very on there.

I attempted to use this oil filter wrench to remove it, but it was in vain. The wrench handle was far too long to grip the filter and get any leverage, so I did what any redneck would do...

...and gave it a little TLC. Now that the handle has been custom fitted, we can continue.

Presto! With our newly modded filter wrench, we're able to easily remove the old filter. Speaking of, the old filter will try to leak oil all over you. Just hold it with the screw on end up and set it down.

One thing you'll want to look for is buildup in that silver ring around where the filter goes. Sometimes the old gasket will stick to the engine and leave a little bit hanging on. If you see anything in the silver ring, best to take a screwdriver or something and scrape it off so that your new filter's gasket will fit flush to the engine.

Installing New Filter:

Now you can install your new oil filter! Look at you! One thing you'll want to do is to check the size of your filter against the old one in case the store gave you the wrong part. I've had this happen only once, so now I check every time.

Note the black circle around the metal. That's the gasket I was talking about previously.

Before you slap that bad boy on, you'll need to take some of the old oil on your finger and run it around the gasket. This will ensure that the gasket makes a seal to the engine.

You can then screw the oil filter on the threading by hand until you are no longer able. You will then need to take your newly modified filter wrench and give the filter another turn and a half or so to make sure it's nice and tight and won't leak oil.

Putting New Oil In:

Now that your new oil filter is secured, you can put the bolt back into the oil pan. Hand tighten as far as you can and then use your ratchet to make sure the bolt is secure so that your pan won't leak oil.

Now you can take your oil cap off and insert your funnel. 

Note that the oil cap shows the weight of oil your vehicle typically uses. Mine says "5w-30," but I tend to use "10w-30" because, to me, the heavier weight allows the oil to last longer. I don't know if it's true, but it seems that way. I've been using it the whole time I've had the car and had zero problems.

As I said, I'm using 10w-30 oil. I also like to use "Full Synthetic" oil. I use it because my car is old and has way lots of miles on it. Synthetic oil has many advantages over regular oil, the main one being that synthetic oil doesn't break down nearly as quickly as regular oil on the moving parts of the engine, thus causing less stress on them. To me it's easier to begin pouring with the jug sideways and then gradually turn the jug up.

Also note that this is a 5 quart jug of oil. The engine calls for about 4.5 quarts, but you can use the whole 5 because, when you start your engine, the oil will go through and then you'll have to add a little more anyway.

Finishing Up:

Now you can put your wheel well panel back on and then put your wheel back on, reversing the steps to remove them.

Now that you're done with the wheel, you can safely remove your jackstand and jack.

Now go back and check your dipstick.

The dipstick will initially need to be wiped off and reinserted and then taken out once more for a more accurate reading. You can see here that my oil level is slightly over full, which is fine.

Also you can see that the oil is a nice golden color. This is how new oil should look as opposed to the brackish color of the old oil.

Now you're ready to drive! Don't forget to remove your tire blocks!

Thanks so Much for Reading!

I hope that this post has been informative and helpful and that you've enjoyed reading along.

Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll respond!

This is P5ych0path, signing off!